Thursday, December 13, 2007

Observations from Sigi online chat

Interesting chat with Columbus Crew coach Sigi Schmid. While I am frequently critical of MLS, there is nothing like the Crew fan base. Crew Stadium will someday be remembered as the Plymouth Rock of a real soccer culture in this country. Walking to a game, you watch the fans tailgate and juggle in loose circles all around the stadium. Every Crew corner kick has the metal rafters shaking as people stomp their feet. Beautiful atmosphere with knowledgeable, fun fans. And Amber Bock at the concessions.

Crew fans deserve a decent team, but since Brian McBride got his just desserts in the UK, it has been simply grim. Should there be optimism? A few thoughts:

  • "You're always trying to look at positional needs, which are important, but you're also trying to find the best soccer players available."
    • More of the latter please, Sigi. In my humble opinion, the Crew needs talent. Period. You have Schelotto, Gaven (kindof), and Marshall. That's it. If you look over the hill you'll see Frankie "I used to run fast" Hejduk and Alejandro "I score a goal every 5 games--look it up" Moreno, but that's it. Carrol's a nice addition, but not enough to turn so many close losses and ties into wins. The team simply lacks talented footballers.
  • "The needs for us are to add a quality forward, an experienced central midfielder, like to pick up a central defender with pace."
    • A sobering thought for Crew fans--basically you need to build the fundamental spine of a team.
  • " We're always looking for good players. I obviously have a past history with Carlos having brought him to the league." (Schmid's comments about Dallas shopping Carlos Ruiz)
    • Schmid sounds coy, even smitten by the little fish. OK, this recalls my experience when my Dallas Cowboys signed Deion Sanders. I hated Deion, but recognized he was what we needed. I hate the way Ruiz plays soccer. He is petulant, fraudulent, and pathetic. But given the right environment, he has the skills to be the difference-maker the Crew needs. For FC Dallas, he's scored 31 goals in 65 appearances. He is primed for a rebound year and could certainly help Columbus in the final third. Was it really Doc Holiday or just Val Kilmer who said "my hypocrisy knows no bounds"?

2 comments:

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Unknown said...

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